‘Issues that once divided Conservatives from Liberal Democrats are now issues where we both agree. Our attitude to devolution and localisation of power. Iraq. The environment. I'm a liberal Conservative.’

At the time, the Lib Dems were leaderless and Cameron was fishing for defectors. The Lib Dem poll ratings were plummeting and Cameron sensed an opportunity. Then the Dunfermline result was announced, a new leader was elected and now a new policy programme is taking shape. The Lib Dems are polling over 20% again, and suddenly the idea of attracting Lib Dem votes looks less attractive to Cameron. So he decides that he does disagree with the Lib Dems over the war in Iraq after all, and supports Tony Blair's decision to go to war. The BBC reports:

Conservative leader David Cameron has said he still believes going to war with Iraq was the right thing to do.

In an interview for BBC's Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, he said the war had been "very unpopular" and some bad decisions had been made since it began.

But Mr Cameron said "those of us who supported" the military action should "see it through".

He praised Tony Blair's reform of the Labour party but said he wanted the Tories to be "the party of the future".

On the issue of Iraq, he told Ross he supported Mr Blair's decision to go to war.

Just what does Cameron really think? It seems to me that, whatever his true opinion, he is working hard to conceal it. First he was for the Iraq war, then he was against it, now he's for it again. Will he oppose it the next time a major bomb goes off, rediscover his support for it when things start to improve, then, when the troops eventually do come home, pretend he was in favour of the whole thing all along? It would certainly fit the pattern.

Personally, I'm glad to see that he's dropping the 'liberal Conservative' line. It leaves the real liberals to get on with the job, without his posing getting in the way.